We believe life in neighborhoods and communities is enhanced when people with disabilities are included in all aspects. Our services are based on the conviction that people with disabilities should live in their own homes and have control over their day-to-day lives just as people without disabilities are afforded. We believe that being a part of the community should not be limited by attainment of certain skills. Assisting individuals achieve true citizenship requires us all to make the concepts of freedom and choice a reality; we do this through our services, our participation in our community and within our hearts...each day, every day.

We believe life in neighborhoods and communities is enhanced when people with disabilities are included in all aspects. Our services are based on the conviction that people with disabilities should live in their own homes and have control over their day-to-day lives just as people without disabilities are afforded. We believe that being a part of the community should not be limited by attainment of certain skills. Assisting individuals achieve true citizenship requires us all to make the concepts of freedom and choice a reality; we do this through our services, our participation in our community and within our hearts...each day, every day.

Impact

We are people with developmental disabilities, who want nothing more than to control our own destinies and live in our own communities. We are an organization of more than 250 full and part-time employees, dedicated to empowering the people we support to live their lives to the fullest extent. We are members of the Board of Directors, charting the course for Hope House, and we are constantly striving to find new ways to raise funds and awareness to help Hope House meet its goals. We are volunteers, who set up tents for fundraising events, spend time with the people we support, and fix computers for the Hope House; who gladly donate our money, goods, and services to help Hope House. We are corporations and foundations which provide generous support through sponsorships, grants, endowments and donations. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with an excellent record of fiscal responsibility and accountability. We are the founders of Hope House: A group of parents who, back in 1964, were seeking an alternative to placing our children in institutions. Together, we are committed to building a community in which everyone is included. Help us build that community. Help us remain an alternative to institutionalization and group homes. Help us prove that true citizenship and independence can only start with a home of one’s own.

Needs

Annual Fund

Community Support Fund

Dental Fund

Skippy Pet Fund

Assistive Technology Fund

Background

Hope House Foundation was founded in 1964 by a group of parents of adult children with disabilities who were seeking an alternative to institutionalization. A donated home on Granby Street in Norfolk became the first community-based group home for adults with developmental disabilities in Virginia.
Over time Hope House realized that the persons we supported were interested in having more privacy and individualized interaction with the community than group homes offered. By 1988, Hope House made the bold move to close its group homes and began supporting persons with developmental disabilities in their own homes, in neighborhoods throughout the community.

Supporting people living individually in the community was an uphill battle, as Medicaid Waiver and Community Service Board funding streams were preferential to congregate living and group-based support services. Over time, acceptance was won; however, funding has remained low. In order to adequately support participants in their own homes, Hope House pioneered a community-based fundraising model to supplement public funding for adults with developmental disabilities.

Hope House currently services 118 adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in 14 locations throughout Hampton Roads. Within those locations, the Residential Corporation, an affiliate of Hope House owns ten properties through which they provide affordable housing to those we serve, as well as to residents from the community in search of affordable housing. This addresses a major commitment: to ensure that those we serve do not live in isolated settings but are part of the community fabric. We remain the only organization in Virginia that exclusively supports persons with development disabilities living in their own homes, and the only agency which conducts community fundraising activities to supplement our publicly funded services.

CEO StatementLynne Seagle has worked in the field of human services for over 30 years. She is one of the country's leading consultants in Organizational Development and Supported Living Services. She consults widely not only throughout the U.S. but also within the United Kingdom and Asia. The focus of her expertise encompasses organizational change, building self-directed work groups and participatory management. Her clients have spanned the private and public sectors and include groups as diverse as the Industrial Relations Dept of NEC (Japan), the Norfolk Police Department and the National Development Team (UK). Ms. Seagle was awarded the Joseph P. Kennedy Foundation's International Future Leader Award and was honored as Virginia Administrator of the Year. She served as a member of the President's Commission on Mental Retardation and is on the advisory Board of the Joseph P. Kennedy Foundation. She has served as Executive Director of Hope House Foundation for over three decades.

Areas of Service

Areas Served

Area

In a specific U.S. city, cities, state(s) and/or region.

Hampton Roads

Hope House Foundation provides support for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities throughout South Hampton Roads in Norfolk, Chesapeake, Norfolk and Virginia Beach.

The tables below contain information about other groups that advise this nonprofit on operations and projects.

Executive Director

Executive Director Lynne Seagle

Experience

Lynne has served as Hope House’s Executive Director for more than thirty years. She is one of the country’s leading consultants in organizational development and supported living services. She consults widely not only throughout the U.S. but also within the United Kingdom, Canada and Asia. In addition, she is in great demand as a keynote speaker for both human service organizations and businesses. The focus of her expertise encompasses organizational change, building self-directed work groups and participatory management.

Her clients have spanned the private and public sectors and include groups as diverse as the Industrial Relations Dept of NEC (Japan), professional and collegiate sports teams, environmental groups, architecture and engineering firms, oil companies, and the National Health Service in the United Kingdom.
Ms. Seagle was awarded the Joseph and was honored as the Virginia Administrator of the Year in 1986 by the Virginia Community Living Association (CLAMR). She has served as a member of the President’s Commission on Mental Retardation and is currently on the Advisory Board of the Joseph P. Kennedy Foundation.

Senior Staff

Name

Title

Diane Beaman

Fiscal Manager

Kimberly Black

Associate Director

Kacy Connors-Boyters

Hiring Director

Becky Dugger

Administrative Director

Robin Haverty

Service Director

Susan Henderson

Services Director

Stephanie Higginbottom

Service Director

Elena Montello

Development Director

Shannon Posiask

Service Director

Angela Stevens

Consulting Director

Staff

Full Time Staff125

Part Time Staff133

Volunteers150

Contractors1

Plans

Organization has a Strategic Plan?

Years Strategic Plan Considers3

Management Succession Plan?Yes

Organization Policy and ProceduresYes

Nondiscrimination PolicyYes

Whistleblower PolicyYes

Document Destruction PolicyYes

Directors and Officers Insurance PolicyYes

Awards

Awards

Award/Recognition

Organization

Year

Full Community Inclusion Award

National Association for the Intellectually and Developmentally Disabled

2008

Community Builder Award for Service Provider of the Year from ANCOR Foundation

DescriptionThere are the differences between merely living in the community – and having a life in the community. That’s why Hope House created our Community Support Program. It’s designed to increase opportunities for the people we support to take an active role within their communities, and to take existing relationships to deeper, more meaningful levels.
Here’s how it works: each team’s Community Support Coordinator works with the people we support to determine individual goals, needs and preferences. Based on those, the coordinator and the individual work together on a plan to increase participation in events, clubs and the community overall – which includes people with and without disabilities.

Budget$20,000.00

Short Term SuccessThe Community Support Program has been enormously successful in empowering the people we support to be active, engaged members of their community. Moreover, their participation within the community has enriched the lives of many other people who have had the opportunity to recognize the unique gifts and talents of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Long Term SuccessThe results have been amazing. Many of the people we support are now involved in various volunteer groups, as well as classes for yoga, knitting, piano and computer technology. They are getting involved in their communities, going to dances and socials, and learning how to make friends. Employment and volunteer work are also part of contributing to the community. And nearly half of the people supported by Hope House are employed, work in sheltered workshop settings or volunteer within the community. People supported by Hope House hold jobs and volunteer positions with organizations such as the Louise Eggleston Center, Endependence Center, the SPCA, Foodbank, the Sugar Plum Bakery, our own Thrift Shop and many other businesses throughout Hampton Roads.

Many of the people we support had few choices and little privacy or contact with the outside world before arriving at Hope House. They seldom learned how to perform tasks most people take for granted, such as cooking, doing laundry or buying groceries. They were even less likely to learn about the relationship of balanced nutrition and exercise to good health.
When people with developmental disabilities begin living on their own, their lack of knowledge can lead them to a variety of unhealthy behaviors, including smoking, eating foods high in sugar and fat and sedentary lifestyles. These behaviors can lead to obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.
Since its inception in 1997, the Hope House Foundation Wellness Program has been supported by community grants and outside funding organizations such as the Portsmouth General Hospital Foundation, the Sentara Foundation, the United Way of South Hampton Roads Community Investment Fund, the McGowan Charitable Trust and Susan G. Koman for the Cure.
The Wellness Program includes creative and multi-targeted approaches to accomplish its goals, including:

aerobic and stretching classes designed for people with disabilities

trips to the YMCA for water aerobics and other fitness activities

supermarket training in which people are educated about choosing healthy foods

individualized weight-loss plans

cooking classes

breast health

pedometer walking fit challenge

education on managing chronic illnesses

contests to motivate people

Budget$20,000.00

Short Term SuccessHealthy habits are forming: nutrition, exercise, diet, etc. are being taught to and embraced by the people we serve.

Long Term Success

As a result of this project, blood sugar has been stabilized from dangerously high diabetic levels, obese individuals have lost weight, many peoples' self-esteem has blossomed and life has simply gotten better for a lot of people. If you would like to learn more about the Wellness Program, or if you would like to volunteer as a fitness or nutritional consultant, please contact Paula Traverse-Charlton (ptcharlton@hope-house.org) by email or by calling (757) 625-6161.